Improvement in impregnating substances with preservative material



UNITED STATES PATENT UFFICI IMPROVEMENT IN I'MPREGNATING SUBSTANCES WITHPRESERVATIVE MATERIAL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 58,036, dated September11, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EMILE SABATHE, engineer, and LOUIS J OURDAN,chemist, both of Paris, France, have invented a new process ofpreserving in the air, in fresh or salt waters, any vegetable or animalsubstances, in the raw or in the manufactured state, such as flax, hemp,cotton, ropes, nets, cloth, sails, papers, skins, leather, and the like;and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the annexed sheet ofdrawing, making a part of the same, and which represents an elevation ofthe apparatus, partly in section, which we have success fully used incarrying out our invention.

Our invention consists in a new process for preserving any vegetable oranimal substances from decaying when exposed to the air or in fresh andsalt waters,whether said substances are in the raw or manufacturedstate.

Ve will arrange and describe our improvements under threeprincipalheads-first, the nature of our preserving matters; secondly, the mode ofapplication of said preserving matters to the substances which are to bepreserved; thirdly, the apparatus used for the application of saidsubstances.

I. As preserving substance we make use of a metallic soap insoluble inwater-a metallic soap, for instance, with base of zinc, lead, copper,alumen, iron, manganese, and the like, or two or more of said soapsmixed together. We also make use of any sort of fatty materials, resins,or bitumina chemically combined, or merely mixed in various proportionswith oxides or metallic salts; but among such mixtures or combinationswe only admit those that are soluble in a volatile substance or madefusible through the medium of heat.

YVe are guided in the choice of these fatty resinous bituminous matters,oxides, or metallic salts by the saving to be realized, the greatflexibility to be insured to the materials in preservation, the use theyare intended vfor, and the importance which they derive in certain casesfrom their primitive color being unaltered.

As regards the salts or metallic oxides to be used, we prefer those withbase of zinc, copper, or lead.

We are perfectly aware that the substances we have mentioned, or themixtures or c, binations of oxides or metallic salts with fa or resinousbodies, have already been 4 ployed for preserving certain vegetableanimal matters from the action of water air. We do not claim, therefore,the said it tures or combinations, but only the means which applicationthereof is made to the s stances to be preserved, which means or pcesses we are about to describe.

II. IVe apply the said mixtures or com nations, according to the natureof the mt rial to be preserved, through either one of 1 three followin gprocesses, which constitt chiefly, our invention: First, in dissolvi thesaid mixtures or combinations by me: of a volatile liquid, such asturpentine-1 benzine, petroleum, or schist, sulphuret carbon, &c., notomitting to mention that have obtained the best results with benzf fromgas-tar or from petroleum, and with i sulphuret of carbon; secondly, inmainta ing the said mixtures or combinations to t state of fusionthrough heat, in which state dip the matter to be preserved; thirdly,mixing the preserving matters with the s1 stances to be preserved--forinstance, t paper-pulp. In case we make use of a volatile solve] it isproper to avoid the loss of the same preparing ofm atters to bepreserved. lVe the. fore effect the impregnation in a closed ves:arranged much like a distilling apparatus, at communicating with a worm,wherein the pors come in to be condensed; Thus, when t substances aresufficiently saturated with t solutions, we draw out or decant thelatter, a1 heat the boiler, either by a direct current steam orotherwise, to a sufficient temperatui so as to effect the distillationof the volati solvent still retained by the substance to l preserved,which, after the vaporization of ti solvent, remains perfectlypenetrated wi a comparative quantity of the preserving m terial withregard to the solution which w: used.

The comparative proportions of the preser ing matters and of thesolvents are to VEL] according to their nature and the quality at priceof the products to be preserved.

WVe would state that by using as solven certain bodies-as benzine orsulphuret of ca for instancethe material to be preserved ery quickly andcompletely penetrated by preserving-liquid, and when the propor- IS ofthe solvent and of the preserving tter are properly calculated We obtainthis y notable resultthat the fibers are as dily separated from oneanother as if they l undergone no previous operation, and the tilematerial may be spun and worked as dily as before the said preparation.The second mode of treatment, already aled to, consists in passing thematerials to preserved into the preserving substances )t through heat ina state of fusion. This reess is chiefly employed by us for cloth 1cordages manufactured, whether the fibers :1 been or not already treatedin the distilling paratus. For ropes and cordages, we squeeze m, ontheir coming out from the melted npound, by some suitable mechanicalproiS, so as to have only a thin layer of the comund left. For sails andcloth, we press them tween two cylinders on their being taken t of themelted compound, which they are die to pass through, care being taken tove them properly maintained in their width. The proportions of themixtures or combitions, as alluded to at the beginning of thisecification, may admit of many variations. 'e will, however, propose onewhich was provctive of excellent results, both for the good eservationof the products and the saving procures in the preparation. To dilutefour thousand pounds of chalk (or equivalent amount of finely-pulverizedlime) to about eleven hundred gallons of water; mix into it sixteenthousand pounds of vegable tar, two thousand pounds of pine-rosin, 1dheat the whole: The mass will swell. We gitate until not any more frothis produced ithe surface thereof; then we add from seven .ousand toeight thousand pounds of crystalaed sulphate of Zinc, (or an equivalentin chlode of zinc;.) to leave on the fire and agitate 1e mass until itbecomes homogeneous, and id thereto from two thousand to four thoumdpounds of coal-tar. IVhen this preparaon is over, we dissolve it coldinto sulphuret T carbon, in the proportion of about twenty arts of thesaid preparation for one hundred arts of sulphuret, and have it filteredpre ions to making use of it. This filtration lay take place in the verydistilling appattns by means of a filter placed beneath the iouththrough which the liquid is introduced. In order to obtain a non-coloredcompound, istead of tar, as above, we substitute rosin, to hich we addabout fifteen per cent. of tallow r oleic acid, or any other fatty fluidor uncuous matter to be had at a cheap price; but hen we add the fattymatters only, after the omplete baking with the salt of zinc, merely oavoid the decomposition thereof.

III. The form and dimensions of the distillng apparatus are to varyaccording to the iature and amount of the products to be preerved, andtherefore we do not confine ourselves to any particular form,arrangement, and size of the same. We will, however, indicate thefollowing arrangements, which procured us a satisfactory result,reference being had to the drawing annexed to the present specification,and wherein A is a water'steam boiler or generator, either stationary ornot, and of any system; B, pressure-gage. This is a boiler filled withwater up to two-thirds. In this water a pipe leading from the generatorand dipping down toward the bottom of boiler B raises the steam to amore or less pressure, but, in general, from three to six atmospheres.To this pipe, and near to the boiler B, are fitted twostop-cocks,between which is a safetyvalve for regulating the steam-pressure withinthe boiler B, from whence the steam escapes through another pipecommunicating with the upper part of the immerging and distilling boilerC. At the lower part of said boiler or vessel is fitted a pipe, which isin direct communication with the worm through a stop-cock. The vapors,after being condensed on their way from the worm D, are collected into arecipient, E.

At one end of O is formed an opening, which is closed at will, andserves to admit the matters to be impregnated. These are placed onhurdles or open baskets in order to facilitate the passage of the steam.Rails, upon which said baskets run, render more commodious the workingthereof.

Other rails placed on O serve to convey there the reservoirs containingthe preservingsolution, introduced therein through any suitable opening,beneath which is placed a cloth bag-like filter for retaining thenon-dissolved substance. In this manner the residues are, after thedistilling process, perfectly clear of the volatile solvent, the loss ofwhich is thereby avoided.

An interval of about four inches separates the matters to be preparedfrom the bottom of boiler G. WVe have found it indispensable to place onthe wire-work or hurdle bottom of the apparatus a layer of filteringmaterial, such as sawdust, sand, pumice, &c.,

which precaution has for effect to prevent the pasting which might beproduced in the lower layers of the matters to be preserved on thedrawing out of the preserving-liquid.

The working of these apparatus will be sufficiently understood from whathas been said, reference being bad to the annexed drawing, without itbeing necessary to give further explanation.

We must observe, however, that for the purpose of obtaining a uniformimpregnation and tint, we fit an axis, one end of which is pivoting onthe stationary bottom of the cylinder 0, while the other end leans upona bearing near to the inside vertical plan of the lock ing of saidcylinder. This locking or closing is formed with a hole in its center,through which projects the end of the metallic axis, that may be set inmotion either by means of a hand-crank or any other suitable motor. Onthis axis are fitted prickles or rods, set in regular line, and betweenwhich we place the the manner of carrying it out in practice, what weclaim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

Preserving vegetable or animal substances, whether in a raw ormanufactured state, by

means of a soap, as herein described, having a metallic base insolublein water, but soluble in volatile liquids or by heat or distillation,and applied in such soluble condition to the article or thing to bepreserved by it, substantially as herein set forth and explained.

EM. SABATHE. LOUIS J OURDAN. Witnesses EDWARD TURK, F. F. RANDOLPH.

